


Long Time No See

by Therapeutic_Steter



Series: Prompt Fics [17]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, M/M, Peter Hale Deserves Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 08:06:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12602084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Therapeutic_Steter/pseuds/Therapeutic_Steter
Summary: anonymous  asked: Can I prompt you? The Hales must still be have friends or acquaintance in Beacon Hills. I would like to see Peter running in one or more of them - with or without Stiles at his side. Or if this isn't your cup of tea the same with Stiles but friends who aren't in the pack (pre-werewolf). thank you.





	Long Time No See

It had taken a lot of money and time, but Peter finally had his life back. He’d had to use up a lot of his favors, but he was alive legally now—there was a paper trail and everything—and he no longer had to skulk around the town of Beacon Hills. It was nice, to be able to be himself again.

Peter hummed to himself, shopping at the local organic store and browsing the produce section. He’d spent too long in the hospital being fed whatever their pathetic slop of the day was, so he had a bit of a picky palette now.

“Peter?”

Peter glanced up, eyes widening in surprise. “Kathy?”

“Oh, I knew it was you!” Kathy said, grinning as she came over and hugged the stunned wolf. “How have you been? I heard about them transferring you to that new hospital; I guess things must’ve worked out if you’re up and about.” She smiled kindly and Peter couldn’t help but return it. Kathy had always been a genuine soul, if not a bit flighty.

“Yes, I’m doing much better now,” Peter nodded. “It was a long process, but they had excellent doctors.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Kathy said, and her heartbeat didn’t lie. “And I’m so sorry about your family. I know it doesn’t mean much, but I just wanted to say so.”

“Thank you,” Peter returned. He was a bit blown away by Kathy’s sincerity and enthusiasm, but she’s been the same even through high school. “Are you still with Leslie?”

Kathy giggled, blushing and still so obviously over-the-moon for her longtime partner. “Yes, we’ve been married for five years now. We’ve got two little boys too, six and ten.”

Peter smiled. “It’s good to see you,” Peter told her and was a little surprised that he meant that. Maybe he needed to get out more, meeting with people other than the teenagers of the Pack.

“You take care,” Kathy said, squeezing his arm once. “If you ever need anything, please let Leslie and I know. And we’d be happy to have you over for dinner one night. We could catch up; it’d be nice to talk to another adult for once.” She laughed and it was just as bright, loud, and contagious as it used to be. Peter couldn’t resist laughing as well.

“I’ll let you know,” Peter said. “Thank you,” he repeated.

“I’ll see you around, Peter!” Kathy grinned before she continued her shopping, moving on to the next isle. Peter had a small smile for the rest of his shopping trip. It was really nice to be himself again.

…

“This is just ridiculous,” Stiles complained, peeking over the menus from the café to glance around them. “What kind of monster targets cafes?”

“They’re targeting the owner, not the café itself,” Peter reminded him, rolling his eyes and sipping as his own perfect macchiato.

“Peter!”

Peter made to look around but he was already being dragged into a bear hug, a large man enveloping him in his arms.

“Damn, it’s been too long!” The loud voice boomed, finally letting Peter go and clapping him on his back heartily.

“Victor,” Peter coughed, smiling and clapping the other man’s back just as hard. Victor laughed, catching Peter’s hand in a shake and squeezing. Peter returned the pressure, grinning with a flash of teeth.

“Where’ve you been hiding, hm?” Victor asked. “I heard you were back in town, but you don’t even think to come visit ol’ Vic!”

“I haven’t quite had the chance to wander the old haunts, Victor,” Peter drawled, rolling his eyes but he was smiling cheekily. Stiles watched him like he had just grew two heads. “Been busy.”

“Nonsense, nonsense,” Victor waved off. “You’ll come down to The Dime this weekend, yeah? I’ll get everyone together. It’ll be a reunion!”

“I don’t know…” Peter said.

“Come on, first round will be on me! You’ve got to come, man.” Victor threw his arm over Peter’s shoulder, pulling the man closer. “Just between you and me, Marcus would be there and he’s still single.” Victor wiggled his eyebrows theatrically and Peter let out a surprised laugh, shoving the man off him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll be there. But  _not_  for Marcus,” Peter pointed out. “You absolute buffoon. You haven’t changed a bit.”

Victor laughed, grinning widely. “Oh, I understand,” he said, glancing over at Stiles before giving Peter a knowing look. “Bring your arm candy then. I’ll see you Friday. You take care, you hear?” He clapped Peter on the shoulder one last time, squeezing once, before moving to grab his coffee. He waved before leaving, still smiling joyfully.

“Who was that?” Stiles asked as soon as Peter reclaimed his seat.

“An old friend,” Peter shrugged nonchalantly. He could still feel Victor’s warm hand on his shoulder, a testament of how long it’d been since he’d been kindly embraced.

“Yeah…and?” Stiles asked, leaning closer. “Come on, dude, give me details! The Dime is, like, the roughest bar in town!  _That’s_  your old hangout? And what did he mean by ‘arm candy’?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Stiles grinned unrepentantly. “Nope,” he answered, popping the ‘p’ obnoxiously.

Peter sighed. “Fine. Nosy brat. We used to be on the basketball team in high school and we stayed friends through college. I haven’t exactly been out much since coming out of my coma, so I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Mmhmm,” Stiles nodded. “And who is this Marcus?” he asked, raising a brow curiously.

“Why? Is my arm candy jealous?” Peter teased. Stiles blushed at the implication but stubbornly crossed his arms, glaring. Peter rolled his eyes. “Marcus was a summer fling from years ago. Victor likes to play the part of my wingman, even when I haven’t asked him to.” Peter shook his head, a fond smile on his face.

Stiles stared at him for a moment. “Holy shit, man. You have, like, friends and a whole other life beyond this shit.”

“I’d like to,” Peter admitted. “Although it’s not exactly something I can completely cast aside. There’s at least a few of you idiots I don’t want to see dead.” Stiles had a look in his eyes then that Peter didn’t trust. Peter eyed him across the table. “You’re planning something,” he accused lowly.

Stiles smiled with faux innocence. “Me? No way, dude. I’m not planning anything.”

“Stiles,” Peter warned, just before a scent wafted in from the open door. Peter instantly looked away, spotting the newcomer.

Stiles snapped to attention, glancing nonchalantly over his shoulder. “Go time?” he asked quietly.

“This isn’t over,” Peter warned.

Stiles winked before standing to follow the creature out of the café. Peter followed, grumbling under his breath about nosy people.

…

Stiles hesitated in the parking lot of The Dime, biting his lip nervously. If anyone had asked, he wouldn’t even have a valid excuse for coming. Curiosity just drove him to; he’d had a glimpse of a different Peter than they all knew and now he wanted more.

Giving himself a few steading breaths, Stiles set his jaw and walked towards the bouncer watching the door.

“I.D.”

Stiles was happy he didn’t have to rely on a fake anymore, proudly procuring the legal piece of plastic showing that he was officially twenty-one. How he’d survived high school, he’d never know; he thanked whatever deity was out there every day that the Nematon seemed to have calmed down once they all spread out for college.

The bouncer eyed his I.D. for a moment before handing it back and stepping aside. Stiles mentally held down his nerves and walked into the bar.

The Dime wasn’t his normal scene, for sure. It had long bar, but there was no dance floor. Instead there was enough TVs hanging off the walls to have at least one game of every type of sport playing somewhere. It was still only eight and Stiles had no idea what time Peter had been planning to meet with his friends, but he had wanted to be safe. He figured he could grab something to drink and settle and watch a game for a bit while he waited.

“Hey!”

Stiles glanced over, startled when the Victor guy from the café came over towards him with a welcoming grin.

“You were with Peter, yeah? He with you?”

Stiles blinked, surprised to have been remembered even though he hadn’t said one word to the guy. “Uh, he’s on the way. I just figured I’d come early.”

“Awesome! Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Victor slapped him on the back and Stiles stumbled in surprise. Victor’s large hand squeezed his shoulder warmly, guiding him to where a group of about ten people had gathered. “This is Peter’s boyfriend,” Victor introduced him to the group, smiling, and Stiles coughed in surprise.

“Nice to meet you!” a woman said loudly, tilting her martini in Stiles’ direction. “What are you drinking?”

“Um, I think I need a whiskey,” Stiles said, mind still whirling on how to approach the ‘boyfriend’ bit.

Another man laughed, waving an arm towards a waitress. “Hey, first rounds’ on me!”

The table cheered and Stiles was welcomed into the group. He was honestly surprised by how seamlessly they incorporated him, asking questions about him without it becoming an interview but also telling him funny stories about the groups’ shenanigans in high school.

“So, there we are, covered head-to-toe in rainbow glitter, and that shit is  _everywhere_. Janitor, principal, and the dean are all staring us down, waiting for an explanation, and Peter just fucking grins that smarmy asshole grin of his and tells them ‘It’s fucking pride month, bitches, and I’m feeling fierce!’”

Stiles cackled with glee, trying to imagine a teenaged Peter Hale doing that and cracking up even more. “How long did you guys gets suspended for?” Stiles asked between giggles.

“Three weeks,” David proclaimed smugly. “It was so worth it.”

“Well what do we have here?”

“Peter!”

If he’d thought he could sneak in, Peter was definitely wrong. Stiles turned to watch the group converge upon him, hugging and welcoming him like honest old friends. It was amazing to watch Peter fall into it. The man looked surprised but pleased about the turn of events, reciprocating the hugs all around and proudly speaking to each person. Stiles couldn’t help but smile, ignoring the fluttering in his chest when Peter gave his genuine smile, and sipped at his whiskey.

“We were just telling your boyfriend Stiles some of the trouble we got into,” Victor said, waving towards Stiles. Peter raised a brow at the boyfriend tag, but he didn’t correct them, thankfully. Stiles didn’t want to think about how awkward that would be. And what was one night pretending to be Peter Hale’s boyfriend?

“Well hello, dear. I see you got here a bit early,” Peter said, stepping into Stiles’ space and, woah, okay. Peter had a mischievous smirk on his face as he made himself home between Stiles legs where the man was leaned back against the bar, sitting on a stool. Stiles gulped more of his drink than he’d planned, coughing, and Peter took his drink, setting it aside before kissing his temple chastely. Stiles’ face felt like it was burning.

Peter seemed to make it a point to always be near Stiles after that, touching his back, his arm, even holding his hand. Stiles shot him a look at that one and Peter simply winked cheekily, downing another shot. The group cheered and Stiles had a margarita thrust into his hand. He shrugged the oddness away, downing the free alcohol and figuring he’d count his mistakes in the morning.

He was having fun though. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so much. Peter’s friends were sincere people, even if they were a bit rowdy. As the shots went down, they got progressively louder, wilder. Katrina slug her arm around Stiles’ neck as he watched Peter arm-wrestling Matt, a nearly seven-foot tall man who would probably have been able to stomp Peter if Stiles hadn’t known the man was a werewolf.

“So how’d you two meet?” Katrina asked, watching the others fondly.

“We met through his nephew,” Stiles said, sticking to the story they’d been given out all night. Katrina smiled like she knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth but she’d let him have it.

“He’s a good one, kid. You keep him and treat him right, okay?”

Stiles was still blown away that there were people that honestly desired the best for Peter. But after seeing the man that came out when surrounded by acceptance and affection, Stiles was beginning to see what they meant.

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed, mouth speaking before he had too much time to think about it. Peter looked up then, meeting his gaze, and Stiles smiled happily. He felt all kinds of warm and fuzzy when Peter returned it. “I will.”

“I think it may be time for us to head out,” Peter called out, moving to brush his hand down Stiles’ back. Stiles leaned against his body, almost melting against him when Peter’s arm slide around to his waist.

“Awe!” the group chorused, quickly moving to hug both Peter and Stiles goodbye. Stiles felt more appreciated than he would’ve ever expected, especially considering he was technically an outsider. But when Peter slid his hand into Stiles’, it was instinct for Stiles to intertwine their fingers, squeezing lightly and smiling almost adoringly as Peter waved goodbye and led him out of The Dime.

“That was fun,” Stiles said as Peter ushered him into the passenger side of his own jeep before taking Stiles’ keys and sliding into the driver’s seat.

“It was,” Peter agreed. Stiles reached over after the man had pulled onto the road and grabbed Peter’s hand, twisting their fingers together again. Peter’s hands were smooth, probably from the werewolf healing factor keeping him from building calluses.

“Hey, you know how we pretended to be boyfriends tonight?” Stiles asked. His filter was gone thanks to the alcohol he’d consumed, but he didn’t feel drunk; just pleasantly buzzed, enough for him to take a chance.

“Mmhmm,” Peter hummed a positive, glancing over at him before turning back to the road. He still hadn’t taken his hand back.

“I might be okay with it if you wanted to do that for real,” Stiles revealed, biting his lip nervously. Then he giggled, looking over at Peter with a smile. “Would you want to do that?”

Peter’s lips were quirked up and he pulled Stiles’ hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back as he watched the road. “I would like that,” Peter said, carefully.

Stiles beamed, watching Peter shamelessly. The man’s eyes flickered over to him every few moments and the grin that kept creeping onto his face was getting bigger. By the time Peter had pulled into Stiles’ house, he was wearing the same genuine smile he’d had on earlier, turning in the seat to face Stiles fully.

“Text me tomorrow and we’ll go get lunch. Your choice,” Peter said, kissing Stiles’ cheek before sliding out the driver’s door and starting like he was going to walk away.

“Wait!” Stiles called, scrambling out the passenger seat and running to catch the man on the sidewalk. Peter turned, eyes widening a little in surprise when Stiles didn’t stop and instead forced the man to catch him or be bowled over.

“Thanks for driving me home,” Stiles said, wrapping his arms around Peter’s neck and letting the man hold him for just a moment.

Peter laughed lightly, nuzzling against Stiles’ hair. “You’re welcome.”

Stiles pulled back enough to press his lips to Peter’s. He moaned, his eyes fluttering shut as he took in the taste of the other man.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Stiles murmured, finally pulling away.

“Goodnight, Stiles,” Peter breathed.

“Goodnight,” Stiles said, pecking him once more on the lips before turning and heading inside.

Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Send me a prompt on [tumblr](https://therapeutic-steter.tumblr.com/)!


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